Dutch Flat 4th of July celebration is a parade with water hijinks and loads of fun! Historic Dutch Flat in California boasts a population today of about 200 (“if everybody’s home,” a local adds) but the numbers swell on July 4 for good reason — the town is FUN!!!

Northern California foothills are dotted with tiny California history museums, many telling the story of Gold Country settlers. What a beautiful surprise it was to stumble upon the Placer County Heritage Trail and free museums to visit all summer long from Roseville to Tahoe!

A Nevada County favorite since 1987 The Draft Horse Classic, held at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Northern California every September since 1987, is recognized as the premier Draft Horse show in the western United States among perhaps hundreds around the world.

The Blessing of the Grapes Ceremony still takes place at Armenian churches all around the world in mid-August. For curious travelers, it remains a worthwhile tradition to visit and will feel as if you are in a different country.

The Underground Gardens tourist destination offers an intriguing tale for all ages that is well worth a stop. The Underground Gardens is what it sounds like: A weaving labyrinth of caverns, rooms and passages all dug underground and filled with fruit trees, vines and plants in spaces that open to the sky. This oddity was built – or shall we say, dug – by Italian immigrant Baldassare Forestiere for about 38 years starting in 1906.

A beautiful stream of reflected light fell across the river from Old Sacramento and its lights. I was standing on the opposite side of the bridge from Old Town. Now, if only that goose would swim over into the right place….

On a sunny, spring day about a year ago, we stopped in at the Oroville Dam and its Feather River Fish Hatchery. Little did we know the peaceful shots we snapped would be such a contrast to the thundering water of the overfilled Oroville Dam in February 2017 that forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people. In addition to the evacuation of people, however, was the mandatory evacuation of several million baby fish from the hatchery we had enjoyed.

The food and drink from world-class restaurants to top-rated wineries in Napa Valley is endless. A stay at a spa can help you “detox” from all that indulgence. We selected the Villagio Spa in Napa for a short retreat that was more about the bliss than the bounty of Napa Valley.

POPOS may sound like a funny name for something you’d munch on during happy hour, but that is so wrong. POPOS stands for “Privately Owned Public Open Spaces,” a.k.a. San Francisco secret gardens. Whether you as a traveler call them POPOS, secret gardens, or rooftop parks, they are ideal respites and secluded open spaces when wandering and touring cities for travelers who just need to rest weary feet or simply take in the surroundings or do a little people-watching – for free, often in a really pleasant venue.

The San Francisco Bay Area hills are spotted with numerous parks where one can hike or picnic, often with great views of the rolling countryside or even the ocean. Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve east of San Francisco has another secret worth a traveler’s exploration: the Rose Hill Cemetery dating back to the Gold Rush.

Mozzeria pizzeria on 16th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District seems like any other pizza joint from the outside looking in. Unassuming sign, simple door, narrow long room, tables full, a line of patrons waiting to be seated, and wait staff bustling about. The noise-level inside is subdued, but unless one is very observant, you may not even notice the out-of-the-ordinary experience provided by dining at Mozzeria. Not until the hostess greets you do you begin to realize this is not your everyday pizza joint.

Since HI Travel Tales is based in California’s so-called Gold Country, we naively thought that this was the center of the panning for gold world. You know, Sierra Nevada gold rush, gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill, gold miners, ‘49ers, and all that jazz. Boy did we learn a thing or two, like gold panning is a world-wide pursuit and there is even a world championships each year.

Driving north on State Route 99 through California’s Central Valley isn’t always a travel bright spot. But keep your eyes open and pioneering history may pop out at you – such as the Liberty Cemetery from the 1850s.

Situated at about the halfway point of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, Michigan Bluff is a California Gold Rush town so tiny nobody even bothers to count how many people live there. Could be about 20. Give or take. An old mining hamlet that once teemed with thousands of gold-seeking pioneers, this is what they call in true Old West cowboy slang a “one-horse town.” No, there’s not much there, but that’s what makes it charming and worth a stop for a hike or a walk when in the Sierra Nevada Gold Country.

Though it arguably boasts one of the most spectacular waterfalls in California and an amazing display of wildflowers in the spring, North Table Mountain Ecological Preserve (just “Table Mountain” preserve to locals) is surprisingly unknown to many outside the area.

OK, I’ll admit this straight out: When HI Travel Tales ventures to another city, museums aren’t usually the top of our list. There is normally so much to see, experience and live on the streets and outdoors. But sometimes a museum just stands out. Take the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History in Monterey County for one.

With springtime comes the search for wildflower walks to enjoy the multicolored beauty of sometimes fleeting blooms. Sierra foothills wildflowers are everywhere as are relatively easy hikes to view them – you just have to know where since you often can’t see the blooms from a road.

When a giant flower only blooms about every two decades – and promises to fill a hall with the smell of road kill rather than jasmine – I just had to go. I’m a garden nut when I’m not traveling – and sometimes even when HI Travel Tales is circling the globe we love to ferret out great gardens.

Alongside the roar of Interstate 80 connecting the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe is an award-winning botanical garden that beckons plant-lovers, gardeners or anyone looking for a relaxing park setting – the UC Davis Arboretum. The park-like arboretum itself beckons with winding paths, benches and plant collections with different themes.

Immediately adjacent to Interstate 80, between San Francisco and Sacramento or Lake Tahoe, California, there is a quiet and wonderful park that isn’t commonly known– Lynch Canyon Open Space, a part of the Solano Land Trust.

The name conjures up images of crunchy apples and juicy pies on crisp fall days. All of that – and more – is true. But the Apple Hill region in California’s Sierra foothills not even an hour east of Sacramento has much to offer most of the summer, fall and winter too.

We could not have imagined what French culinary delight we were about to experience as we walked to the front door of Allez! Located just a few minutes from Placerville in the California Gold Country not far from Sacramento, Allez French restaurant is an intimate bistro owned and operated by Christian and Jennifer Masse. Christian is as French as they come — and Allez’s chef. It had just enough “quaint” to offer a casual European bistro feel.